The Strand Theater, Part II

Those who were intrigued by my previous post about Tiptonville Tennessee’s Strand Theater might be interested in some new information that was brought to my attention by Julie Haynes. I wasn’t able to find too much about the theater on the internet, but Julie, learned historian an unofficial family genealogist, has come to the rescue.
While the theater’s earliest history is yet to be found, it appears that George William (”Will”) Haynes and Lillian Haynes owned the Strand beginning in the early 1930s. The couple owned 25 or 30 theaters in all, located in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. Their good friend Utra Burton managed several of their theaters, including the drive-in movie in Wynnburg. It has been stated elsewhere, and repeated by me, that Utra Burton owned the Strand, but that appears to have been an assumption on someone’s part. Utra certainly would have been a frequent, authoritative presence in the theater, making the assumption a logical one. Will died in 1942, but Lillian maintained ownership of The Strand until 1965, at which time she sold it to the Mason Lodge. Lillian died the following year.